PSA: Number of jobless Filipinos up to 3.76M in June

The number of unemployed Filipinos slightly rose to 3.76 million in June compared to 3.73 million in May, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.

Unemployment rate, meanwhile, remains at 7.7% — the second lowest since April 2020 after the 7.1% recorded in March 2021.

The largest month-on-month drops in employment were seen in accommodation and food service activities; public administration and defense, compulsory social security; transportation and storage; and financial and insurance activities.

Underemployment for the month also increased by 918,000 to 6.41 million from 5.49 million. This translates to an underemployment rate of 14.2%, versus 12.3% in May.

The labor force participation rate for the month was registered at 65.0% or about 48.84 million Filipinos aged 15 years and above who were either employed or unemployed during the period.

The employment rate for the month was also unchanged at 92.3% from May, equivalent to 45.08 million, with employees averaging a 39-hour work week.

The services sector accounted for the largest share of the workforce, with 57.6%, followed by agriculture with 24.3%, and industry with 18.1%.

The biggest month-on-month increases were recorded in administrative and support service activities; wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles’ fishing and aquaculture; education; and agriculture and forestry.

In terms of the youth labor force, the participation rate was at 39.8% in June versus 38.4% in May. The youth employment rate was unchanged at 85.5%, the youth unemployment rate at 14.5%, and underemployment up to 13.5% from 10.0% the previous month.

Unemployed Filipinos could continue to increase this month, with the reimplementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila.

“Although the ECQ imposition may temporarily impact employment outcomes in August 2021, the government is determined to maximize this period to accelerate vaccination in high-risk areas in order to safely resume economic activities and restore jobs,” the economic managers said in a joint statement.

The statement was released by Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, and Budget and Management Officer-in-Charge Tina Rose Marie Canda.

Metro Manila is under general community quarantine “subject to heightened and additional restrictions” from July 31 to August 5, 2021. This will be followed by the strictest enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) which will be in place from August 6 to August 20, 2021.

There are some 9.1 million fully-vaccinated Filipinos as of August 1, while those who have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines stand at 11.7 million.

“We are one with the Filipino workers in striving to regain our economic foothold,” the economic managers said.

“We urge everyone to sign up with their local government units to secure their vaccination slots. The safety of all Filipinos and the full reopening of the economy strongly depend on everyone’s cooperation,” the statement added.  —KBK, GMA News